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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Parsley Potato Soup

Because sometimes you buy an entire bunch of parsley for a recipe and then completely forget to add it to the dish you bought it for.

Yeah, so I had bunch of parsley left over from last week's gumbo. [I also forgot to add the jalapeno I picked up, but I'll put that in something else later this week. Burritos or chili, we'll see.] I hate to waste food, so there was no way I was going to let this green bouquet of herbs wilt in my fridge. But what exactly does one do with a bunch of flat-leaf parsley???

My first thought was oven-roasted parslied-potates. Mmmm, roasted potatoes. But there was no way I could throw that much parsley in without overwhelming the dish. So, you know, when all else fails... throw it all in a soup pot! A huge soup pot, to be specific. I used the same ingredient ideas I had for the roasted potatoes but made it soup instead. [It's like magic!] Besides all of the chopping, this comes together quickly. And makes a LOT of soup. So maybe share it with a friend... or five.

I like this soup, I really do. It's more of a soupy soup than what I usually prefer (does that even make any sense???), but it's light and delicately flavored and quite delicious, if I do say so myself. It's not super filling by itself (I had two big bowls) but would be a perfect starter course or served with a salad or a sandwich. Or... whatever, how about I stop telling you how to plan your meals and just post the recipe?

Quick note about the wine: I used pinot grigio, mostly because the label on the bottle told me that it had "aromas of pear and Meyer lemon" and I thought that would compliment the parsley. I don't normally drink white wine, but I'm sipping on a glass as I type this and it is fantastic! However, since you'll only be using about 1/3 of a cup of wine altogether, I would recommend using a white wine you enjoy drinking, since you'll have quite a bit left. Hey, that wine isn't going to drink itself, you know... *wink*

Directions:
In a large soup pot, toss in chopped potatoes and 5 cups of water, and add a dash of salt and put a lid on it. Heat on high to bring water to a boil. Set timer for 10 min. Turn off the heat when the timer goes off.
In a large saute pan, heat parsley and 2 Tbsp wine on medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5 min until leaves are bright green and just getting wilty. Add the parsley to the potatoes. In the same pan, saute onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and 2 Tbsp wine on medium-high heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are soft. Add these guys to the potato pot and turn the heat back on to medium-high.
Stir in vegetable broth, beans, 2 Tbsp wine, and lemon juice, and simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.